Preview: Rise of the Tomb Raider could be Lara's best

Gallery: Preview: Rise of the Tomb Raider could be Lara's best

+4

+3

+2

The 2013 revamp of Tomb Raider initially angered many fans of the original Ms Croft, despite the fact that the last few games in the series, were bad. They had struggled to find purpose, to define Lara as a character, to offer anything beyond more raiding of tombs and increasingly dry British sarcasm from the hero herself.

In the years since the original Tomb Raider (and, more importantly, Tomb Raider 2) on the PlayStation established Croft as a gaming icon, the series had been outdone at its own archaeological action adventure game by Naughty Dog's Uncharted. When it came time for that 2013 Tomb Raider, it was little surprise that developers Crystal Dynamics took some inspiration from the very series Lara's earlier incarnation had herself inspired.

Advertisement

Like Uncharted's Nathan Drake, modern Lara was -- and, in Rise of the Tomb Raider, continues to be -- a complex, more fully realised character. She's a realistic figure, physically and emotionally, not a cartoon. After her rebooted origin saw her trapped on the cursed island of Yamatai, growing from eager but naive archaeology student into a hardened survivor, Rise delves into what motivates her now.

The answer is truth. Lara is determined to reveal what took place on Yamatai to the world, but a cover-up orchestrated by a shadowy organisation known as Trinity has turned the gutter press against her, rubbishing both her claims and the research of her father before her. And, if Trinity has locked down the Yamatai incident, well, she'll just find another lost civilisation and reveal that to the world.

Read next

Prey review: a jarring mix tape of other games

6/10

ByMatt Kamen

There's a newspaper we see in a flashback early on in Rise, headlined "ANOTHER CRAZY CROFT". It's just a brief glimpse in the background, but it perfectly defines this new Lara. She has something to prove, and no power on Earth will stop her. But it also reveals the harsher side of the life she's being drawn into, where that push for the truth alienates her friends in the comfortable world.

Lara's greater experience and confidence filters through to the mechanics of playing Rise, which will immediately be familiar to anyone returning from the last game. At its core, the controls are identical. We're not forced to reacquire the tools Lara ended the last game on, meaning she's kitted out with most of her climbing gear from the off. A good thing too, as the opening area, trekking across a frigid mountaintop, serves as a reminder of movement and navigation. Even when Lara regains a bow later on, it's treated with less fanfare than before. She knows how to craft survival tools now. She's got this, just trust her.

Advertisement

What Rise does is build on the successful framework that already existed with the last game. Nothing is different, per se, there's just more to do, and more space to do it in. All the combat, stealth, and navigation systems work as well as before, but Crystal Dynamics has layered more complex systems on top. For instance, as Lara uncovers trinkets and treasures, her language proficiencies level up; the more she learns, the more she can discover in the environment. That in turn opens up new equipment available through a black market antiquities currency.

Crafting now plays a much bigger role, with materials found dotted around able to be turned into ammo or supplies. It's not quite at Skyrim levels, where you can spend days harvesting berries or wildflowers to turn into potions, but it's deep enough to feel like a significant addition to the game. One neat addition is the ability to make healing salves from leaves and herbs. After all the scrapes Lara got into last time, it makes sense she'd have figured out how to put together some field triage.

Weaponry is also given an overhaul. Lara doesn't just have one bow or one shotgun to choose from; she'll acquire multiple armaments as you progress through the game. Swappable at base camps -- once again serving as save points and eventually fast travel hotspots -- they can customise play, emphasising silent kills or enemy demolishing firepower. Crafting factors in here too, with magnecite ore capable of being refined into explosives or shells.

Read next

Hands-on with Apple's Beats X earphones: were they worth the wait?

ByJeremy White

All these secondary systems enhance what was already there, without feeling like they've been added for the sake of it. It's not "new stuff for the sequel!", it's a considered application of improvements and refinements.

Rise is also an astoundingly pretty game, even in its harshest environments. The ruins and hidden temples Lara discovers are vast and stunning, delivering the level of eye candy you'd hope for. But more than that, they feel like they were once inhabited. From the traps that line their walls to the evidence of long-gone cultures, they're hauntingly real.

Beyond the aesthetic, the tombs Lara explores here are bigger than anything in the previous game, and there's an almost palpable sense of foreboding when entering one. The level design is superb, with the puzzles that must be solved to progress spread through the entire space. There's no rote progression either, no "pull lever A to open door B, move on". Instead there'll be side objectives to complete and hidden areas to uncover. It's not accurate to call them living worlds, but they're certainly brilliantly realised.

Establishing Trinity as a more defined set of antagonists works well for Rise's evolution of Tomb Raider. Last game, the Yamatai cultists were merely there, just part of a horrifying situation Lara had fallen into. With Trinity, she has a defined enemy, one that's actively hunting her and she's trying to outmaneouvre. It's at once bigger and more personal, while also allowing for new kinds of areas to explore -- military installations and modern fortresses as well as the familiar tombs.

Advertisement

With Rise of the Tomb Raider, Crystal Dynamics has taken an "if it ain't broke..." approach. The team knows what worked previously, they know what the fanbase responded well to, and those things remain perfect and untouched. The additions, meanwhile, offer genuine improvements and greater depth, without muddying up the streamlined experience. Exclusive to Xbox for a year, this could prove to be one of Microsoft's most impressive coups ever.

Our only concern is its total length, with Rise boasting of being three to four times bigger than its predecessor. If it can maintain pace and a solid level of engagement over that period, that could lead to a truly brilliant gaming experience. However, if it merely repeats the same tricks throughout the game to pad out length, and lacks enough story to justify 30+ hours of play time, then that would undermine everything else the game appears to be getting so right.

Rise of the Tomb Raider is out on 13 November for Xbox One and Xbox 360. A PC launch is scheduled for early 2016 with the game coming to PlayStation 4 later next year.